{{Short description|Semi-automatic pistol}} {{about|the firearm|the rapper whose stage name is taken from it|Tech N9ne}} {{infobox weapon | name = TEC-9 | image = kg99.jpg | caption = Interdynamic AB KG-99 Mini | origin = United States | type = [[Semi-automatic pistol]] | is_ranged = yes | service = | used_by = | wars = | designer = [[George Kellgren]] | design_date = | manufacturer = [[Intratec]] | unit_cost = | production_date = 1984–2001 | number = 257,434 | variants = {{plainlist| *KG-99 *TEC DC-9 *TEC DC-9M *AB-10 *TEC-9M (Mini, 76 mm barrel, no barrel jacket, 22-round magazine) *TEC-9S (stainless steel)<ref name="Hogg">{{cite book|last = Hogg| first = Ian| title = Jane's Infantry Weapons 1989–90 |edition=15th | publisher = Jane's Information Group| year = 1989| isbn =0-7106-0889-6| page =70}}</ref>}} | spec_label = | weight = 1.23–1.4 kg depending on model | length = 241–317 mm depending on model | part_length = 76–127 mm depending on model | width = | height = | cartridge = [[9×19mm Parabellum]] | caliber = [[9 mm caliber|9mm]] | action = [[Blowback (firearms)|Blowback-operated]], [[Semi-automatic firearm|semi-automatic]] | rate = | velocity = {{convert|1181|ft/s|abbr=on}} | range = {{convert|50|m|abbr=on}} | max_range = | feed = 10-, 20-, 32-, 36- and 50-round box magazine, 72-round [[drum magazine]] | sights = [[Iron sight]] }} The '''Intratec TEC-9''', '''TEC-DC9''', '''KG-99''', and '''AB-10''' are a line of blowback-operated semi-automatic [[pistol]]s. They were developed by [[Intratec]], an American [[subsidiary]] of the Swedish firearms manufacturer [[Interdynamic AB]]. Introduced in 1984, the TEC-9 is made of inexpensive molded [[polymer]]s and a mixture of [[Stamping (metalworking)|stamped]] and [[Milling (machining)|milled]] steel parts. The simple design of the gun made it easy to repair and modify. It was a commercial success, with over 250,000 being sold.
Similar to the [[AK-47]]'s symbolism with [[Third World]] and [[Left-wing politics|leftist]] revolutionaries and the [[Thompson submachine gun]] with [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]]-era gangsters, the TEC-9 is notorious in [[Culture of the United States|American pop culture]] for its association with [[organized crime|criminal gangs]], [[drive-by shooting|drive-by shootings]] and [[mass shooting]]s in the 1990s, being used during massacres like the [[101 California Street shooting]] and the [[Columbine High School massacre]].
== History == Interdynamic AB, a Swedish [[firearm]]s manufacturer based in [[Stockholm]], designed the [[Interdynamic MP-9]], intended as an inexpensive [[9mm]] [[submachine gun]] based on the [[Carl Gustav M/45]] for military applications. The firearm was initially intended for adoption by the South African [[apartheid]] government,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Simon|first=Romero|date=August 12, 2001|title=The Nation; A Gunmaker Gone Without a Bang|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/12/weekinreview/the-nation-a-gunmaker-gone-without-a-bang.html|access-date=May 15, 2020}}</ref> though it was rejected and shipped to various other nations. Ultimately, Interdynamic did not find a government buyer.
As a result, the weapon was taken by lead designer [[George Kellgren]] to the United States domestic market as an [[open-bolt]] semi-automatic pistol known as the '''KG-9''', redesigned to eliminate its collapsible stock and vertical foregrip features per the [[National Firearms Act of 1934]] and marketed under the subsidiary Interdynamic USA brand. Interdynamic USA was operated by George Kellgren, Carlos Garcia and Mercedes Garcia.
Still, the design was deemed too easy to convert to an [[automatic weapon]]. Due to this, the [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] (ATF) forced Interdynamic USA to redesign the firearm into a [[closed-bolt]] system, which was harder to convert to an automatic weapon. This variant was called the '''KG-99''', and was popularized when it made frequent appearances on the popular television show ''[[Miami Vice]]'', where it was legally converted to full auto by [[Special Occupational Taxpayers|Title II manufacturers]].<ref name="Muramatsu2012">{{cite book|last=Muramatsu|first=Kevin |title=The Gun Digest Book of Automatic Pistols Assembly/Disassembly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YAjzU4WjeLoC&pg=PA361|access-date=10 July 2013|date=18 July 2012|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-3006-6|pages=361–369}}</ref><ref name="BrownAbel2010">{{cite book|author1=Peter Harry Brown|author2=Daniel G. Abel|title=Outgunned: Up Against the NRA-- The First Complete Insider Account of the Battle Over Gun Control|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DgXlZjWcKUUC&pg=PA92|access-date=10 July 2013|date=15 June 2010|publisher=Free Press|isbn=978-1-4516-0353-8|pages=90–96}}</ref>
The KG-9 and KG-99 have an open-end upper receiver tube where the [[Bolt (firearms)|bolt]], recoil springs, and [[Recoil buffer|buffer plate]] are held in place by the plastic/polymer lower receiver frame. This design only allows for {{convert|115|gr|g}} 9mm ammunition, and if a heavier grain ammunition or hot loads are used, the plastic lower receiver will fail or crack, rendering the firearm unusable.
Interdynamic USA eventually became Intratec when George Kellgren left the company and Carlos Garcia renamed it Intratec, this also led to the KG-99 having its name changed into '''TEC-9'''.
Later versions of the TEC-9 and AB-10 had a [[Threading (manufacturing)|threaded]] upper receiver tube at the rear and a screw-on end cap to contain the bolt, recoil spring, and buffer plate even if removed from the lower receiver, solving the problem of lower receiver failure when using hot ammo. [[File:Interdynamic-KG-9-Review-1.jpg|thumb|George Kellgren, Carlos Garcia and Mercedes Garcia at Interdynamic with the first KG-99]] === Reputation and legislation === Following the 1989 [[Cleveland School massacre]], the TEC-9 was placed on [[California]]'s list of banned weapons. To circumvent this, Intratec rebranded a variant of the TEC-9 as '''TEC-DC9''' from 1990 to 1994 (with ''DC'' standing for "'''D'''esigned for '''C'''alifornia"). The most noticeable external difference between the TEC-9 and the later TEC-DC9 is that rings to hold the sling were moved from the side of the gun with the cocking handle to a removable stamped metal clip in the back of the gun. In 1993, the weapon was the subject of further controversy following its use in the 101 California Street shootings<ref>{{citation|title = Columbine Gun's Maker Closes Up; Legal Battles Ensnarled Navegar and TEC-9 Pistol|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=August 18, 2001}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/news/feature/1999/12/30/guns/index2.html |title=The hidden culprits at columbine |work=Salon |access-date=2010-01-20}}</ref> That same year, California amended the 1989 [[Roberti–Roos Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989|Roberti–Roos Assault Weapons Control Act (AWCA)]], effective January 2000, to ban handguns having features such as [[barrel shroud]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://library.findlaw.com/2001/Aug/1/126093.html |title=California Supreme Court Turns Back Gun Foes in Merrill v. Navegar |work=Findlaw |access-date=2010-01-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cpmlegal.com/publication.php?p=assault |title=Assault Weapons: The Case Against The TEC-9 |access-date=2010-01-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfib/courses/silveira.htm |title=Silveira v. Lockyer, 2002, 9th Circuit |access-date=2008-07-25 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080725093346/http://www.ux1.eiu.edu/~cfib/courses/silveira.htm |archive-date=2008-07-25 }}</ref> During the 1990s the TEC-9 also developed a reputation for its use by American [[street gangs]] and organized crime syndicates, who were attracted to the large capacity 32-round magazines and low cost of the firearm.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cpmlegal.com/news-publications-Assault_Weapons_The_Case_Against_The_TEC_9.html |title=Assault Weapons: The Case Against The TEC-9: Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP |website=www.cpmlegal.com}}</ref>
The TEC-9 was produced from 1985 until 1994, when the model and TEC-DC9 variants were banned nationally in the United States, among the 19 firearms banned by name in the now-expired 1994 [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban]] (AWB).<ref name="Peterson2008">{{cite book|author=Phillip Peterson|title=Gun Digest Buyer's Guide To Assault Weapons|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fd9Qc0neMjYC&pg=PA139|access-date=10 July 2013|date=30 September 2008|publisher=Gun Digest Books|location=Iola, Wisconsin|isbn=978-1-4402-2672-4|page=139}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vpc.org/intrtec.htm |title=Intratec |publisher=Violence Policy Center |access-date=2010-01-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202071710/http://vpc.org/intrtec.htm |archive-date=2010-12-02 }}</ref> This ban forced Intratec to cease their manufacture, and forced them to introduce a newer model. The following year Intratec introduced the '''AB-10''' ("AB" standing for "'''A'''fter '''B'''an"), a TEC-9 Mini without a [[Threading (manufacturing)|threaded]] muzzle/barrel shroud and sold with a smaller 10-round magazine instead of 20- or 32-round magazines. However, the AB-10 still accepted the larger capacity magazines of the pre-ban TEC-9 models which were often acquired by users in place of the standard magazine. In 1999, the TEC-DC9 Mini was notoriously used by [[Dylan Klebold]], one of the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre, ending with him using it to take his own life.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.acolumbinesite.com/weapon.php|title = Weapons used during the shootings at Columbine High School}}</ref>
In 1994, the TEC-9 was used by murder suspect Bennie Lee Lawson in a shooting at [[Henry Daly Building]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], killing two FBI agents, one police officer and wounding another FBI agent and a civilian before taking his own life.<ref name="FOUR SLAIN AT D.C. POLICE HEADQUARTERS">{{Cite news |date=1994-11-22 |title=FOUR SLAIN AT D.C. POLICE HEADQUARTERS |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/11/23/four-slain-at-dc-police-headquarters/8cf691d2-bfd5-44df-bbd5-668829d8bf54/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210212084552/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1994/11/23/four-slain-at-dc-police-headquarters/8cf691d2-bfd5-44df-bbd5-668829d8bf54/ |archive-date=2021-02-12 |access-date=2024-04-28 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US}}</ref>
The TEC-9 was also used in the 1990 drive-by shooting at [[Nashville, Tennessee]], [[West End Synagogue]] by Grand Wizard of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] [[Leonard William Armstrong]].<ref name=Justia>Justia.com. US Court of Appeals, Cases & Opinions. [http://cases.justia.com/us-court-of-appeals/F3/49/1162/551123/ United States of America, Plaintiff-appellee, v. Jonathan David Brown, Defendant-appellant.] Retrieved December 19, 2009.</ref>
In 2001, the [[Supreme Court of California]] ruled that Intratec was not liable for the 1993 101 California Street attacks, and that same year Intratec was [[dissolution (law)|dissolved]] and production of the AB-10 model ceased.<ref name="washingtonpost">"Columbine Gun's Maker Closes Up; Legal Battles Ensnarled Navegar and TEC-9 Pistol". ''[[The Washington Post]]'' (August 18, 2001).</ref> Although still found on the used firearms market and legal on the federal level since 2004, the TEC-9 and similar variants are banned, often by name, in several US states including California, [[New York (state)|New York]], [[New Jersey]], and [[Maryland]].<ref>{{cite news|title=New Jersey Gun Owners Decry Ban Critics Were Legion At A Sports Shop. They Hope For A Senate Override Tomorrow Of Florio's Veto.|url=http://articles.philly.com/1993-03-14/news/25948755_1_gun-ban-gun-stores-tec-9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714185237/http://articles.philly.com/1993-03-14/news/25948755_1_gun-ban-gun-stores-tec-9|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 14, 2014|access-date=2014-03-25|date=March 14, 1993|author=Edward Colimore|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}</ref>
===Influence and clones=== Despite its poor reputation, the TEC-9 has been subject to clones and inspiring both contemporary and subsequent pistol and submachine gun designs. A notable case is the [[Kimel AP-9]], a semi-automatic pistol and [[pistol-caliber carbine]] line made by A.A. Arms. The AP-9 is very similar in terms of outward appearance, albeit with several design differences such as more prominent sights and thumb safety. It is generally considered to be a TEC-9 clone.<ref name="descendants">{{Cite web |last=Pike |first=Travis |date=August 8, 2025 |title=The Many Desccendants of the TEC-9 |url=https://gatdaily.com/articles/the-many-desccendants-of-the-tec-9/ |access-date=2026-05-10 |website=GAT Daily (Guns Ammo Tactical) |language=en-US}}</ref>
The bolt design of Croatian [[Agram 2000]] submachine gun has been based on that the TEC-9.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pike |first=Travis |date=April 22, 2024 |title=The Agram 2000 - A Criminals Favorite SMG |url=https://gatdaily.com/articles/the-agram-2000-a-criminals-favorite-smg/ |access-date=2026-05-13 |website=GAT Daily (Guns Ammo Tactical) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz4lboS4dzE&t=80s |title=Military Weapon used by gangsters, Agram submachine gun. With firearms expert Jonathan Ferguson |date=April 21, 2021 |last=Royal Armouries |access-date=2026-05-13 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
In 2015, [[B&T]] introduced the P26, a semi-automatic pistol and submachine gun line made for both civilian and military market. The design has been noted for its similarities to the TEC-9 and its predecessor, the [[Interdynamic MP-9]], such as the tubular design, direct blowback action and polymer lower.<ref>{{Cite web |last=F |first=Nathaniel |date=March 11, 2015 |title=B&T P26 Submachine Gun Announced |url=https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2015/03/11/bt-p26-submachine-gun-announced/ |access-date=2026-05-10 |website=thefirearmblog.com |language=en}}</ref> The design would later be sold to [[Beretta]], who would slightly modify the design and release the line as the [[Beretta PMX|PMX]], aiming to replace the aging [[Beretta M12|PM12]] submachine gun. Both the P26 and PMX have been regarded as evolution of the TEC-9 design.<ref name="descendants" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Member |first=Jess-Range Team |date=January 14, 2025 |title=Beretta PMXs |url=https://therangewi.com/beretta-pmxs/ |access-date=2026-05-10 |website=The Range of Richfield |language=en}}</ref>
Quantities of an illegally-made 9mm [[machine pistol]] were seized in Europe in 2017. Despite being [[Improvised firearm|improvised weapons]] (and not developed by Intratec) they were nonetheless marked as "Intratec TEC-9", believed to possibly have been done as a means to improve the street value of the weapon.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=3925|title=Unknown Submachine Gun with Fake Markings Seized in Europe – Small Arms Defense Journal}}</ref>
==See also== *[[Intratec TEC-22]] -[[.22 long rifle]] front-magazine semi-automatic pistol manufactured by Intratec *[[Kimel AP-9]] *[[Beretta PMX]] *[[Agram 2000]] *[[Carlo (submachine gun)]] - Improvised submachine gun also inspired by the Carl Gustav M/45 *[[Claridge Hi-Tec/Goncz Pistol]] - Tubular design semi-automatic pistols with a [[telescoping bolt]] produced in early 1990s *[[Star Model Z62]] ==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Intratec TEC-DC9}} * [https://www.survivorlibrary.com/library/intratec_tec9_sub_machinegun.pdf Manual TEC-9 TEC-9 Mini TEC-9 Stainless] * [https://archive.org/details/interdynamic-kg-99-manual_ KG-99 Manual] at [[Internet Archive|Archive.org]]
{{Front-magazine pistols}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:9mm Parabellum semi-automatic pistols]] [[Category:Front-magazine pistols]] [[Category:Simple blowback firearms]] [[Category:Semi-automatic pistols of the United States]] [[Category:Gun politics in the United States]] [[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1984]]